How it Should have Been
by queenb9728
Summary: Takes place during Deathly Hallows. When Ron leaves, Harry and Hermione find a way to cope. The absence of their best friend brings them together in a way neither of them had though about before. What starts out as just a coping mechanism quickly blossoms into something more. Discover how the story would have changed had the Harry/Hermione relationship taken place.


**A/N: This is a little story that has been bouncing around in my head since J.K. Rowling announced that Harry and Hermione were better suited for each other than Hermione and Ron. I finally decided to get it out of my head and put it on paper. This is a Harry and Hermione story, so if you don't like that pairing, I would advise you not to read it. I am less familiar with this writing style, so please bear with me. Please review, I am going to need all the feedback I can get with this story. I want to know what you like, and what you think I can improve on. Fair warning, Harry and Hermione will probably be a little OOC, but I'm going to do my best to keep the true to their characters, while making them work with my plot. A big thank you to my wonderful editor and best friend, Artemis Rose, who helped me make this a million times better than it was when I first wrote it. Finally, there will be some quotes from the book. Those are bold, and in italics. I have no rights to those, or to these characters, or some plot dynamics that will come up later. Basically, if you recognize it, it belongs to J.K. Rowling.**

**_ "What are you doing?"_** Ron asked Hermione.

**_ "What do you mean?"_**

**_ "Are you staying, or what?"_**

**_ "I . . ." She looked anguished. "Yes—yes, I'm staying. Ron, we said we'd go with Harry, we said we'd help—"_**

**_ "I get it. You choose him."_**

**_ "Ron, no—please—come back, come back!"_**

**_ She was impeded by her own Shield Charm; by the time she had removed it he had already stormed into the night. Harry stood quite still and silent, listening to her sobbing and calling Ron's name amongst the trees._**

**_ After a few minutes she returned, her sopping hair plastered to her face. _**

**_ "He's g-g-gone! Disappareted!"_**

**_ She threw herself into a chair, curled up, and started to cry._**

Harry looked at his best friend, and clearly saw the pain she was feeling. He felt the same way. How could Ron do this to them? He was supposed to be their friend, and he just abandoned them like that. In that moment, Harry realized that he only had one real friend in the world. And she was sitting in front of him, in a chair, crying.

Harry walked up to her, "Hermione?"

Her response was continuing to sob into the upholstery.

"Hermione?" he tried again.

She continued to cry, without acknowledging Harry's presence.

Harry couldn't take being ignored anymore. He was upset too, but not only at Ron's abandonment. He was upset at how it was affecting Hermione, and all he wanted to do was help. It's not that Harry was afraid of tears. With everything he had gone through in the last few years, Harry could handle tears. He didn't like them, but he could deal with them.

He knelt down next to his best friend, who had given up so much to come on this journey with him. "Hermione?" he asked for the third time.

She finally looked up, her face all red and splotchy with tears running down her cheeks.

"Oh, Hermione," Harry said, wrapping his arms around her. "I'm so sorry."

Hermione just continued to cry, burying her face in his shoulder. Her body shook with each sob that escaped. He stroked her back, trying to comfort her. He wanted her to know how much he appreciated her staying with him, and he put those unspoken words into each caress of her back.

After a few minutes of kneeling, Harry's knees were starting to protest. Without a word, he scooped Hermione up, and sat in the chair, resting her on his lap. If she noticed, she didn't say anything. Instead, she continued to cry and stain his shirt with the saltwater of her tears.

Harry let her weep, wishing there was something he could do to make her feel better, but nothing came to mind. All he could do was continue to hold her, and sit in a shared grief.

After what felt like hours, Hermione had cried herself out. Her eyes were still puffy, and her face was still red, but there were no more tears making their way down her face.

She looked up Harry, and he could see the hurt in her brown eyes, "I'm so sorry, Harry."

"Shh," Harry told her. "You have nothing to be sorry for."

"But…"

"No," he said firmly. "Absolutely nothing."

She nodded, looking at her lap, on which her hands were resting. Tears started to brim up in her eyes again.

Harry didn't want the tears to start again. He cared about Hermione and hated to see her in pain. In the heat of the moment, Harry did something that he didn't expect. Seeing the sadness etched on Hermione's face, he cupped his hand under her chin, and turned her head to face him. Their eyes met, hers displaying surprise as he brought their faces closer and closer together until their lips met.

The moment their lips met Harry felt an almost tangible spark between them and a flash of heat coursed through his body. The feel of Hermione's lips on his was dizzying and effectively turned his brain to mush. But, through the haze, he felt a twinge of guilt. How could he do this to her now? She had just essentially had her heart broken by their mutual best friend and he felt as if he was taking advantage of her pain and using her emotions. It was wrong.

With this realization, Harry pulled away. "I'm sorry," he apologized, looking away from her. "I don't know what I was thinking."

"It's okay," she replied. Harry continued to avoid her gaze. "I'm serious," she told him, bringing his face around so their eyes met once again.

"You're not mad?" he asked, his voice hopeful. He didn't think he could take another one of his friends abandoning him tonight.

"I'm not mad," Hermione reassured him. "I thought it was sweet."

Harry chuckled, "that's what I was going for."

Hermione smiled, before the frown made it's way onto her mouth. "Now it's my turn to be sorry."

"Nope," Harry said, adamantly. "I told you, you have nothing to be sorry for."

"Thanks," she responded, a small smile crept onto her face again, but didn't reach her eyes.

In a moment of pure desperation to ease his friend's pain, Harry once again, brought his lips to hers, this time with much more force. She seemed surprised for a moment, but soon she was kissing him back. Their lips moved together in ways Harry had never imagined possible. His arms wrapped around her body, pulling Hermione as close to him as she could possibly be, while her hands held his face against hers, refusing to break the spell they were under.

Finally, the need for air overwhelmed them, and they broke apart.

"Hermione," Harry started, trying to catch his breath.

"Harry James Potter, don't you dare say you're sorry!" Hermione yelled. Harry opened his mouth to protest, but Hermione cut him off. "Because I am not sorry! I'm not sorry one bit!" And with that, she kissed him again, this time it was less frantic and filled with more tenderness.

The sweetness quickly turned heated as their kissing deepened. Harry trailed his lips down her throat, eventually kissing her neck.

"Hermione," he breathed, as he brought his mouth back to hers.

As their kisses intensified further, Harry felt Hermione's legs wrap around his waist, holding her to him. He stood up, and carried her towards the bed. He lowered her down, without breaking the kiss. His hands moved to the bottom of her shirt.

"Are you sure?" Harry asked, looking into Hermione's eyes.

She nodded, and soon they were joined together in every way possible.

**What did you think? Any and all feedback is helpful.**


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